September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Image Group LA(LOS ANGELES) — Eva Longoria is teaming up with Airbnb for a series of virtual events in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Tuesday, September 15.

The Desperate Housewives star, in collaboration with the housing company, will offer a variety of events that celebrate the Latinx culture through 25 online experiences curated from across the U.S. and Latin America.

Some of the virtual activities you can participate in include a salsa dance class and an exploration of the tradition of Mexico’s Day of the Dead that also teaches viewers how to make decorative papel picadopaper decorations and sugar skulls. 

Attendees at a Cigar Tasting from Miami’s Little Havana will learn about cigar smoking, rum and coffee pairings, while Ricardo, a Mexican National Coffee Judge, will teach a masterclass on how to brew the finest cup of coffee.

The month culminates in a one-time-only cooking class hosted by Eva called TexMex Cooking Online Experience, where she’ll prepare an authentic TexMex meal that features one of her favorite dishes.

“There’s no better time to come together and celebrate the vibrant traditions, diversity, and richness of our heritage,” Eva says in a statement. “There’s a deep-rooted connection between our culture and food, and I’m delighted to invite you into my kitchen and share some of my most cherished memories as we cook one of my favorite TexMex dishes that remind me of home.” 

Prices for the individual activities range from $6 – $100 per person.

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15.

By Cillea Houghton
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Amy Sussman/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — It’s been over 10 years since Scarlett Johansson first appeared as Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2, and, finally, fans will learn the mysterious character’s story in the upcoming action movie Black Widow.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s release date was pushed to November 6, 2020.  Still, Black Widow will set the tone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next phase in storytelling — commonly referred to as Phase Four — for the franchise.

In a recent interview with Empire, Johansson says that because Black Widow ushers in the MCU’s new era, the story plans to tackle a litany of important issues and set a more feminist tone.

“I think this film in particular is very much reflective of what’s going on in regards to the Time’s Up movement and the #MeToo movement,” said the 35-year-old actress. “It would be such a miss if we didn’t address that stuff, if this film didn’t take that head-on.”

Johansson says the movie is “about women who are helping other women, who lift other women up out of a very difficulty situation.”

The actress also explained why it was important for Black Widow to include these values, because fans needed to know where her character stands before she’s retired from the MCU.

“Someone asked me if Natasha was a feminist. Of course she is, it’s obvious,” the actress quipped. “It’s kinda an asinine question.”

Black Widow made the ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, so the upcoming story will take place before Captain America: Civil War and set up Florence Pugh, who plays Black Widow’s “sister” Yelena Belova, as the one to inherit the mantle for the franchise’s next phase.

Johansson’s complete Empire interview is available on newsstands now for the magazine’s Dune issue.

Marvel is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC(LOS ANGELES) — Jimmy Kimmel hosts this year’s virtual Emmy Awards on September 20, a show he tells Variety will be very different from any of the others, but hopefully just as “fulfilling.”

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host had been taping his late night talk show show remotely from his home and without a live audience, before going on summer vacation in early June, and says he’s well prepared for what to expect.

“I’m fairly comfortable with the idea of not getting a response from an audience,” says Kimmel, who admits, “it’s more fun when you do get big laughs for the jokes you work hard on for a couple of months, but what are you gonna do?  It’s a pandemic!”

Kimmel also hopes the winners will do their part by keeping their speeches interesting.  “I hope it’s not the typical ‘Sit in front of your monitor, with a carefully selected assortment of books behind you’ situation,” he says.  “I hope that people’s families are going crazy when they win.”

Kimmel breaks down the show’s format to Variety this way: “There’s not going to be a lot of pre-tapes…The show will be mostly what we do that night.  I think if we try to do what we’ve done in the past, we’re going to fail.”

Still, Kimmel insists, “I want to make sure that it’s fulfilling and that they feel like they weren’t cheated out of the full Emmy experience…And also, along the way, we’ll make sure to pay tribute to the people who are leading us through this pandemic.”

“You know, everyone says, ‘These award shows are all the same.’ And this one is definitely not going to be the same.”

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast airs September 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

John Tsiavis/Bravo(LOS ANGELES) — A major shakeup is coming to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, with actress Denise Richards announcing she’ll be exiting the reality show after two seasons.

A spokesperson for The Bold and the Beautiful star confirms to Variety that Richards will not be returning for the next season but didn’t provide a reason.

However, fans of the show have plenty of theories — shouldering the blame squarely on RHOBH alum Brandi Glanville, who claimed she had a one-night stand with the fashion model.  That on-camera confession sparked intense drama within the cast, who began criticizing Richards for a variety of reasons, such as her wanting to have more say over her image

The bad blood boiled over in the final episode of the most recent season, where Richards walked out of a restaurant the cast was dining at in Rome following a contentious argument over Glanville’s claims.

Bravo has yet to remark on Richards’ exit.

However, with one housewife gone, another might be swooping in to take her place.  Andy Cohen, who is the executive producer of the Real Housewives franchise, teased on his Radio Andy show on SiriusXM that Kris Jenner might be a potential replacement.

“I think it would be a huge get too and by the way she is already connected with the cast. She knows, she’s good buddies with Kyle [Richards] no joke, she knows everyone on the show,” Cohen explained. 

However, he thinks Jenner might not be the best fit, adding, “She is leaving a show for which she has total control over. Why would she leave and join a show that she has no control over?”

It was announced this week that the next season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians will be its last. Jenner serves as the series’ executive producer.

September 10, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images(LONDON) — British actress Dame Diana Rigg, known for her powerful roles in Games of Thrones and the classic 1960s TV series The Avengers, has died. She was 82.

“She died peacefully early this morning. She was at home with her family who have asked for privacy at this difficult time” her agent said, according to the BBC.

Rigg’s role as the butt-kicking secret agent Emma Peel in The Avengers made her a feminist icon of the time, who more often than not wound up rescuing her male partner John Steed, played by the late Patrick MacNee. She starred on the show from 1965-68, earning two Emmy nominations. Rigg found renewed fame later in life when she took on the role of the sharp-tongued Lady Olenna Tyrell on HBO’s Game of Thrones. She was nominated for four Emmys for her portrayal.

During her long career on stage and screen, Rigg also portrayed Bond girl Tracy di Vicenzo opposite George Lazenby in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service — the only woman Bond ever married.

Rigg won a Tony in 1994 for playing the title role in Medea, and she was nominated three other times. She also snagged an Emmy in 1997 for her role as Mrs. Danvers in a PBS adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.